Category Archives: Markets of London

Leadenhall Market is located in the City of London and occupies a site that was once at the centre of Roman London.

In the early 14th century, the site was within the Manor of Leadenhall which belonged to Sir Hugh Neville. It was around this time that it developed a market for poulterers and cheesemongers.

The famous Lord mayor Richard ‘Dick’ Whittington gave Leadenhall to the City in 1411 and the market grew considerably to provide a site for selling poultry, grain, eggs, butter, cheese, herbs and other foodstuffs. Over the next 200 years Leadenhall Market attracted markets for wool, leather and cutlery.

Rudolf Ackermann, Leadenhall Market 1808

Although Leadenhall Market only suffered slight damage in the Great Fire of 1666, it was partially rebuilt as a covered structure and was divided into the Beef Market, the Green Yard and the Herb Market.

The Poultry Market remained at Leadenhall until the 20th century and the market was famous for the sale of meat, poultry and fish. However, by the mid-20th century the shops began to be used for general retailing and by the 21st century, the meat market had disappeared and Leadenhall Market had evolved into one of the City’s upmarket shopping centres.

A common saying is that Leadenhall Market is famous for Tom, Dick and Harry.

During the 19th century ‘Old Tom’ was a celebrated character in Leadenhall. He was a gander who managed to escaped being slaughtered at the market. He became a local celebrity until his death in 1835 at the age of 38, he lay in state in the market and was buried on the site.

Dick is famous former Lord mayor Richard ‘Dick’ Whittington who gave Leadenhall to the City in 1411.

Harry is Harry Potter, Part of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was filmed in Leadenhall Market in 2000/2001. The market was used to represent the area of London leading to the wizarding pub The Leaky Cauldron and magical shopping street Diagon Alley.

Leadenhall Market is one of the most attractive old fashioned Victorian markets and is full of shops and other attractions.

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The Southbank Centre Food Market showcases some of the best street food and produce in the capital. With a variety of top products and flavours, the market is a great place to have a bite to eat if you are visiting the many attractions on the South Bank.

You will find the market behind the Southbank centre in the Square each weekend including bank holidays.

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
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Anyone looking for second-hand and antique books will find a wide selection for sale at the Southbank Centre’s Book Market. The market takes place under the Waterloo Bridge on Queen’s Walk, and is a delightful place to browse or find those unusual and out of print books.

It is one of the few outdoor second-hand and antique book markets in southern England and is open daily.

The market is held on long trestle tables which allows customer’s to take their time looking at the large number of paperbacks and hardcover on display.

For more information about the Book Market, visit the Southbank Centre website here

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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The Camden markets are a number of markets in Camden Town centred around Camden Lock, a wide range of items are sold including crafts, clothing, bric-a-brac and fast food. Camden Market is one of London’s most popular visitor attraction attracting around 100,000 people each weekend.

One of original markets in Camden Town was operated in Inverness Street at the beginning of the 20th century which provided basic foodstuffs for the local population. In the 1970s, a small weekly crafts market began to operate every Sunday near Camden Lock. This market developed into a large complex of markets in a mixture of stalls and fixed premises. These markets originally operated on Sundays only, which continues to be the main trading day. Many of the traders open on Saturdays to make it a weekend market, a small number of traders in fixed premises do operate throughout the week.

The main markets include :

Camden Lock Market

Camden Lock Market is situated next to the Regent’s Canal on a site formerly occupied by warehouses connected with the canal. By the 1970s, the small crafts market became a well-known local attraction that attracted shoppers to the location. Eventually, the range of goods widened with stalls selling books, new and second-hand clothing, and jewellery, in recent years it has attracted a wide range of street food stalls.

The Stables Market

The Stables Market is located in the historic former stables and a Grade II listed horse hospital, many of the stalls and shops are located in large arches within railway viaducts. Stables Market has a number of clothes stalls, furniture and antiques.

Buck Street Market

With ‘The Camden Market’ sign over the Buck Street Market it is often considered the heart of the market, this outdoor market focusing almost exclusively on clothes.

Inverness Street Market

The oldest street market in Camden still continues to have traders selling their wares but food and vegetables stalls have almost disappeared.

The Camden markets attract large numbers of young people attracted by clothing and art pieces for alternative sub-cultures. The market has attracted independent designers and dealers specialising in unusual items especially fashion and music items. The late Amy Winehouse made her name in Camden in the various music establishments, to honour this connection, the market has a statue of the singer.

Due to the popularity of the markets, the large visitor numbers at the weekends has led to the Camden tube station to restrict Sunday afternoon access to incoming passengers only in order to prevent dangerous overcrowding of the narrow platforms. Visitors can use the nearby Chalk Farm and Mornington Crescent stations which are not subject to restrictions

Camden Market Opening Times

Camden Market is usually open every day from 10am – 6pm

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London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
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The Portobello Road market with over 1,000 dealers selling all kinds of items is one of the largest markets in London and since the late 20th century had attracted a large number of visitors from London and overseas.

The market is situated in the trendy London district of Notting Hill and is surrounded by a large number of pubs, cafes and restaurants.

The area takes it name from the Porto Bello Farm which was built-in the area which was named after the town of Porto Bello in Panama, captured by the British from the Spanish in the 18th century. For much of the 18th and 19th century, Portobello Road was a country lane in a rural area.

Gradually in the 19th century, residential development began to take place in the Portobello Road area, with a number of terraces and crescents built for the increasing numbers of wealthy people attracted to the district.

Up until the 1940s, Portobello Road market was similar to many other London markets and mainly sold food and other essential items. However after the war, traders selling antiques and bric-a-brac and antiques began to sell their wares and gradually Portobello Road Market became known as a place to pick up antiques.

In the later half of the 20th century, Portobello Road was transformed from run-down district to being to one of most affluent, fashionable and desirable areas to live in the capital. The new residents spending power attracted young fashion designers who began to trade at the market selling designer and vintage clothing.

Each day attracts different traders, Saturday is the busiest day and attracts large crowds. In the market is a large number of street food stands and plenty of live music along the trail of the market.

Most cafes/shops are open + some forecourt traders at the southern end of Portobello Road.

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday

Portobello Road between Elgin Crescent and the Westway – fruit and veg, household goods, a few clothing stalls, sometimes casual stalls of vintage clothing or bric-a-brac

Golborne Road – fruit and veg, hot food

Thursday

Portobello market and Golborne market is half-day on Thursdays, with stalls closing by 1pm.

Travel

There’s a choice of two underground stations: Ladbroke Grove (Hammersmith & City Lines) or Notting Hill Gate, which is on the Central, Circle and District lines.

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London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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Petticoat Lane Market is a clothing market in East London. It consists of two adjacent street markets. Wentworth Street Market is open six days a week and Middlesex Street Market is open on Sunday only.
In the early 17th century, the area was a commercial district where second-hand clothes were sold and exchanged and became known as ‘Peticote Lane. When the Huguenots arrived it became a centre for manufacturing and selling clothes.

The late 19th Century saw the arrival of large numbers of Jewish Immigrants who settled in the area. At the end of the 19th century and early 20th century the market become an important centre for Jewish life in London.

Because the Market was generally unregulated, the local authorities often tried to close it down even to the extent in the 1930s driving police cars and fire engines up and down the market. Eventually they conceded defeat due to its massive popularity and in 1936 the rights of the market were protected by an Act of Parliament.

Many people were attracted to the ‘Lane’ for the entertainment with many traders renown for their ‘patter’, there were also a large number of ‘characters’ such as Ras Prince Monolulu who sold racehorse tips that frequented the market which added to its appeal. More recently one of the characters was entrepreneur Alan Sugar who had a stall at the market.

Although a pale imitation of its ‘glory days’, the lane is still considered one of the sights of London and still attracts large numbers of people. But if you are looking for a street name for Petticoat Lane itself you will be disappointed because in 1830, Peticote Lane’s name changed to Middlesex Street, however the old name continues to be used for the market and area.

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and the latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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Berwick Street was built between 1687 and 1703. However it was in the early 20th century when the street became synonymous with the fashion and textile industry. The shops and stalls were popular with young working girls shopping for silk stockings and affordable ready-to-wear fashion. Even Bloomsbury Set writer, Virginia Woolf would frequent Berwick Street Market to buy silk stockings.

Berwick Street Market is one of the capital’s oldest markets. Street trading began in the late 18th century but only received official recognition as a market in 1892.

The Berwick Street area has for centuries been a cosmopolitan district, and in the late 19th century, the Market earned a reputation for selling a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. In the early 20th century it became a destination for the foodies of their day to pick up exotic ingredients.

The modern market is an eclectic mix of stalls which includes street food, fruit & veg, flowers and fashion. Situated near Theatre’s and other entertainments it attracts a wide range of customers and is a good example of a neighbourhood market that are fast disappearing all over London.

Opening Times : Mon to Sat 9am-6pm

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and the latest up to date news and reviews of events in London. Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated. We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more. There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog. To find out more visit the website here